Problems of preserving the intangible cultural heritage of the peoples of Buryatia and Yakutia in the XXIst century

The article examines the current problems of preserving intangible cultural heritage of the Russian Federation, which, for some reason, has not ratified by the UN Convention for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage. It also explores the history of inclusion of cultural space and oral creativity of the Old Believers (Semeiskie) and of the Yakut heroic epos “Olonkho” into the UNESCO World Heritage list. The article presents the materials on how the regions of the Russian Federation, including the Republic of Buryatia, have searched the ways to preserve intangible cultural heritage.